Choosing the right daycare for our kids is never easy.
You want to select one that has the right educational environment, as well as the right staff.
But it can be all about instinct for many parents. Ultimately, a good deal of research is usually required.
For one mom in Arizona, she thought she’d found the perfect setting for her child and was happy to leave her there every day.
Then one afternoon she went to collect her and was horrified at the sight she was met with.
Alice and her husband, both former Marines, chose the facility because it was accredited, close to work and close to the University of Arizona, where Alice is enrolled.
But one day when Alice was about to pick up her child, she was shocked to find what was on her 15-month-old daughter’s body after a day at Creative Beginnings Preschool.
“It’s stomach-turning. It feels both angry and sad at the same time,” said Alice Martin.
She is now demanding answers after her child was bitten more than two dozen times while at a daycare.
Alice realised her daughter, Rosalynn, had been hurt when she was changing her clothes at home and found red marks on her back, hidden underneath her daughter’s clothes.
”At first, I was like ‘are those really bite marks?’ And then, my brain kinda stopped thinking and I started crying,” Alice Martin told WKYT.
”There’s over 25 plus, it’s hard to tell. 25 would be the minimum that the police officer and I discussed.”
The Tucson Police Department said officers took an initial report and the Crime Scene Unit took photos. Investigators believe the marks, which were discovered in February, were caused by another child. No one has been arrested yet.
“You always want to protect your children and I feel like that didn’t happen,” Alice said.
“I feel like I left her with someone that didn’t look out for her at all.”
Alice added: “The fact that nobody intervened in how many minutes, maybe they were left alone, maybe they disregarded the cries, I don’t know, but it takes some time to do that kind of biting and my daughter would have been very upset.”
Creative Beginning Preschool would not release a statement and the Department of Health said it could not comment on pending investigations, according to the Daily Mail.
In May 2019, The Arizona Department of Health Services released the following statement to KOLD News 13 about the incident:
“ADHS is investigating the incident at Creative Beginnings Daycare and working with law enforcement. The investigation is not completed and ADHS cannot comment on pending investigations.”
The mom now worries if no action is taken, the same thing that happened to her daughter could happen to someone else’s child.
“The fact that nobody intervened in how many minutes, maybe they were left alone, maybe they just disregarded the cries, I don’t know. But it takes some time to do that kind of biting and my daughter would have been very upset,” she said.
It should go without saying that any and all abuse against a child is abhorrent, unnatural and an unforgivable breach of trust. We need to be doing all we can to remain vigilant to potential cases of child abuse the world over, and operations such as this one should continue to run as they do.
The world is always going to be a dangerous place, but it’s our duty to ensure we make it as safe as possible for our children. Taking a hardline stance on any form of child abuse is something that must be done, now and in the future.
Please share this story to show your support in the fight against child abuse.
